As time goes by and nuclear bombs become more available at the retail level, one might hope that human societies would become more cooperative and able to reconcile differences. But, alas, the best our Dear Leaders seem able to come up with is Full Spectrum Global Domination.

Our future is grim, I fear.

The victorious American military machine's blood lust was unsatiated, aided by the position of Japanese scientists who insisted that the evidence of American atomic technology was lacking, and that surrender was unthinkable. Thus, Nagasaki suffered the fate of Hiroshima:

Quoted for bullshit! Truman was Commander in Chief and the military obeyed him!

"It's clear that most people have forgotten the lessons of August, 1945"

No they haven't. The lesson was that nuclear power can avert protracted warfare and avoid force on force conflict between nations.

Dropping the bombs on Japan was the best thing that has happened for security in the history of the planet! Since then there has not been all out war between major powers, low intensity conflicts with much lower death totals have become the norm.

Please tell me this is an April Fools opinion piece!

This is the sort of hell Cheney-Bush wants to unleash upon Iran - and eventually, any other nation which stands up to them.

Correction

This is the sort of hell Cheney-Bush Iran wants to unleash upon Iran Chaney-Bush support for Israel - and eventually, any other nation which stands up to them.

It's the inconsequential thinking of Realist that can lead to the grater threat of nuclear war. To assume that only America would use this power is the most obtuse thinking of all.

The rational is this opinion piece is so flawed in ist logic that I can not help holding out hope that this is Realist April Fools jest.

Also, I know its easy for a TV raised Latte sipping pacifist moron to fret over a few thousand deaths, the 4000 in Iraq or the tens of thousands from the bombs are a total outrage to those without memory or perspective.

To put some perspective, WWII killed 70,000,000 people, the vast majority of them inflicted on the allies.

Thanks to security actions like the development of nuclear weapons your ungrateful ass will never have to deal with any conflict within an order of magnitude of that. Now continue biting the hand that fed you with your spoiled childish leftist rantings.

The article is extremely well written, and the number of relevant links is simply awesome. All in all, it does a great job of stating the obvious facts that War is Hell, that a Great Big War is even worse, and that even a Teeny Tiny War involving nuclear weapons (or nasty germs or chemicals, perhaps) is even worse.

However, the underpinning thought seems to be that the one use in history of two crude atomic bombs was wicked beyond description (although the author does a great job of trying to describe it), amounting to the lowest depth to which any civilization has ever sunk, leaves me a tad underwhelmed.

Even one violent death is bad. Lots of violent deaths are even worse. Unfortunately, by 1945 it had become necessary to end the war in the Pacific. Lots of people were killing or maiming each other, on both sides. Japan (which, some may remember, attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941 and did lots of bad stuff later) was not about to surrender, conditionally or unconditionally. A massive attack on Japan using conventional forces was in the works. Such an attack on the mainland of Japan would have cost an unthinkable number of lives, both American and Japanese, and not only in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, over an extended period of time. The death toll would almost certainly have been far worse. The article does not provide any realistic basis for thinking that this would have been better.

The attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki may well have had good effects beyond ending the war quickly and with casualties less than would have been produced by continued conventional war. During the more than half century since then, there has been sufficient reluctance to use nuclear weapons that none have been used, other than through their possession as deterrent to use by others. Until recently, nuclear weapons have been the sole province of what we like to call "civilized" countries. That is changing, and that is very troubling. To lay that problem at the feet of long dead American soldiers intent upon satisfying their unsatiated blood lust is at best misguided.

Dan Miller

The Realist's train appears to have derailed.

Regardless of all the fine words justifying any and all sides, the conclusion one must come to is that the human race will destroy itself with the unfortunate combination of Great Power and Insufficient Wit.

As it happens, it will not, apparently, be the commies and the West pulling the MAD trigger, but the Christians vs. The Muslims.

How fitting that a religious war, even more demented than a political war, will destroy us all.

Wrong. The final war will actually be the one waged between cat people and dog people.

Ruvy,

But are you in violent agreement with the derailing comments?

Dan

"Some say the world will end in fire,
some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire,
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice."

courtesy of Robert Frost

So, even if we don't all kill each other, and Global Warming or Global Cooling does the trick instead, it will be OK.

Dan Miller



Robert Frost

Regardless of all the fine words justifying any and all sides...

Eleanor Roosevelt spoke in support of this view when she said, in 1954, that Truman had "made the only decision he could," and that the bomb's use was necessary "to avoid tremendous sacrifice of American lives."

When did Rushdie become a fish???

The Realist is spot on about the likelihood of the United States attacking Iran and using nukes in the process. That is in the cards. In addition, we see war brewing like so much coffee: The Syrians are arming the border and whispers are of HizbAllah getting more and more equipment.

War by PessaH is a real possibility.

But the Realist's train derailed when he made a big stink over the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They are not relevant to the issues at hand

it will not, apparently, be the commies and the West pulling the MAD trigger, but the Christians vs. The Muslims. How fitting that a religious war, even more demented than a political war, will destroy us all.

Oh, ye of little faith! Is G-d's Hand short? If I really thought this way and cowered like you do, I'd have never moved from Minnesota to Israel, and certainly would never have moved to Ma'alé Levoná. I'd be hiding like a little wimp seling Whopper sandwiches while my kids got drunk at keggers and screwed shiksas.